Four suicide bombings rocked Taliban birthplace Kandahar province in south Afghanistan Saturday evening, leaving at least 27 people dead and 52 others injured.

The Taliban early on Sunday claimed responsibility for the bombings, noting that the attacks served as a message to the NATO commander in Afghanistan, Stanley McChrystle.

The United States general earlier announced that the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is to launch a crackdown in Kandahar province to seize the control of most parts of the province from the Taliban.

Around 15,000 NATO and Taliban troops launched a major military operation last month in Marjah district of Kandahar's neighboring province of Helmand.

Some 100 of the around 2,000 Taliban insurgents based in Marjah were announced being killed and the authorities stated that the clearing stage of the Operation Moshtarak, or Together has been successfully accomplished.

The ISAF was encouraged to expand the crackdown mission to Kandahar, another Taliban hotbed.

However, Saturday's attacks displayed the determination of the Taliban to fight head to toe, local analysts said.

Police officers who declined to be identified told Xinhua that four suicide bombers riding two motor cycles and two bicycles targeted Kandahar prison, the police department, a guest house in Al-Jadid market and a mosque at 08:15 p.m. local time Saturday causing the casualties.

The police said all the four attackers were killed in the multiple attacks.

As many of the injured are in critical situations, the fatalities could be higher than reported.